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Recitation Songs
Accompanied recitations of poetry or dramatic texts, most often for spoken voice and piano, became very popular in the nineteenth century as an after dinner entertainment. Jacqueline Waeber has explored how, during the 19th century and particularly in Germany, poetic recitation became increasingly 'musicalized' by the addition of musical accompaniments for the Lied and the musical melodrama, as part of a search for new declamatory styles. The genre was often looked down on as something for authors and composers of lesser stature, though there are examples by Robert Schumann (''Ballads for Declaration'', 1850s) and Richard Strauss (''Enoch Arden'' (1897). The English composer Stanley Hawley made many such settings, some of which were performed at the first season (1895) of the Henry Wood Proms in London. His friend Lena Ashwell was often the performer. In popular music, especially country music, a recitation song or "recitation" as it is more commonly called, is a spoken narrativ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber music, chamber groups, orchestra, choir and the opera. His works typify the spirit of the Romantic era in German music. Schumann was born in Zwickau, Saxony, to an affluent middle-class family with no musical connections, and was initially unsure whether to pursue a career as a lawyer or to make a living as a pianist-composer. He studied law at the universities of Leipzig University, Leipzig and Heidelberg University, Heidelberg but his main interests were music and Romantic literature. From 1829 he was a student of the piano teacher Friedrich Wieck, but his hopes for a career as a virtuoso pianist were frustrated by a worsening problem with his right hand, and he concentrated on composition. His early works were mainly piano pieces, inclu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greatest success in the 1970s as a force in country music's "outlaw country, outlaw movement" popularized by artists Hank Williams Jr., Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, and Merle Haggard. In 1980, Paycheck appeared on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'', though in the ensuing decade, his music career slowed due to drug, including alcohol, and legal problems. He served a prison sentence in the early 1990s, and his declining health effectively ended his career in early 2000. Early life Johnny Paycheck was born Donald Eugene Lytle on May 31, 1938, in Greenfield, Ohio. By age 9, Lytle was already playing in talent contests. He was singing professionally by age 15. Career After a stint in the Navy in the 1950s, he reloc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ragged Old Flag (song)
"Ragged Old Flag" is a song by American country music artist Johnny Cash from the 1974 album of the same name. Background "Ragged Old Flag" was written in 1974 while Cash was in Binghamton, New York, during a time of political turbulence in the United States that had forced the resignation of President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal. Although Cash had publicly supported Nixon's candidacy, he had started to question the wisdom of Nixon-era policies concerning the Vietnam War. He wrote "Ragged Old Flag" to "reaffirm faith in the country and the goodness of the American people." The song tells a story of an old man in a town square describing, to a visitor who was critical of how the flag looked, what the flag and America have been through together. "Ragged Old Flag" is typical of Cash's particular style of patriotism characterized by his appreciation for the land, people and complexities of the United States. Critical reception Although some considered the song too jin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phantom 309
"Phantom 309" is a song written by Tommy Faile and released as a single by Red Sovine in 1967. It was a minor hit, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Magazine Country chart. The lyrics are spoken, rather than sung. Content The song tells of a hitchhiker (the singer, in first person) trying to return home from the West Coast. On the third day of his trip, while at a crossroads in a driving rain, the hitchhiker is picked up by "Big Joe" driving his tractor-trailer named "Phantom 309." After driving through the night, Big Joe drops the hitchhiker off at a truck stop, gives him a dime for a cup of coffee, then disappears out of sight. Once inside, the hitchhiker tells of Big Joe's generosity and the waiter tells him he had been the beneficiary of a "ghost driver" (a variant of the vanishing hitchhiker/truck driver urban legend). Ten years earlier, at the same intersection where he was picked up, Big Joe had swerved to avoid hitting a school bus full of children because he cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Brennan
Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Come and Get It (1936 film), Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky (film), Kentucky'' (1938) and ''The Westerner (1940 film), The Westerner'' (1940), making him one of only seven List of actors with two or more Academy Awards in acting categories, actors to win more than two Academy Awards, and the only male or female actor to win three awards in the supporting actor category. Brennan was also nominated for his performance in ''Sergeant York (film), Sergeant York'' (1941). Other noteworthy performances were in ''To Have and Have Not (film), To Have and Have Not'' (1944), ''My Darling Clementine'' (1946), ''Red River (1948 film), Red River'' (1948) and ''Rio Bravo (film), Rio Bravo'' (1959). On television, he starred in the sitcom ''The Real McCoys'' (1957–1963). Early life Brennan was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, on July 25 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Rivers
"Old Rivers" is a country music song written by Cliff Crofford which tells the story of a man recalling a childhood friendship with an elderly farmer. The song was most famously recorded as a recitation by actor and recording artist Walter Brennan. Released in March 1962, "Old Rivers" — prominently featuring The Johnny Mann Singers as the backing choir over Brennan's recitation of the refrain — became a top 5 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Easy Listening, and Hot C&W Sides charts by the end of May. The song was also recorded by Jimmy Dean, Dave Dudley and Red Sovine. Country-rock band Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ... used the line from "Old Rivers" at the beginning of their song "Mountain Music": "... one of these days I'm gonna climb that mou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
City Pages
''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a decline in ads and revenue related to the COVID-19 pandemic. History On August 1, 1979, publishers Tom Bartel and Kristin Henning debuted ''Sweet Potato'', a monthly newspaper focused on the Twin Cities music scene. The first issue featured pop band The Cars on the cover. In October 1980, ''Sweet Potato'' went biweekly. On December 3, 1981, the newspaper went weekly and was renamed ''City Pages''. ''City Pages'' competed for readership with the ''Twin Cities Reader'' until 1997, when Stern Publishing purchased ''City Pages'' in March and the ''Twin Cities Reader'' the following day, shuttering it immediately. Bartel and Henning left ''City Pages'' in the fall of 1997. Tom Bartel's brother Mark was named publisher after Bartel and Henning ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Anderson (singer)
James William Anderson III (born November 1, 1937) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television host. His soft-spoken singing voice earned him the nickname "Whispering Bill" from music critics and writers. As a songwriter, his compositions have been covered by various music artists since the late 1950s, including Ray Price and George Strait. Anderson was raised in Decatur, Georgia and began composing songs while in high school. While in college, he wrote the song "City Lights", which became a major hit for Ray Price in 1958. His songwriting led to his first recording contract with Decca Records that year; shortly afterwards Anderson began to have major hits. In 1963, he released his most successful single, "Still". The song became a major country pop crossover hit and was followed by a series of top-10 hits. These songs included " I Love You Drops", " I Get the Fever", and " Wild Week-End". His songs were being notably recorded by other artists. In 1964, Con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mama Sang A Song
"Mama Sang a Song" is a country music song written and recorded by Bill Anderson. Released in 1962, this recitation — prominently featuring a backing choir singing Christian hymns — was Bill Anderson's first No. 1 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot C&W Sides chart that fall. The song spent seven non-consecutive weeks atop the chart, spanning from October 27 through December 22, and 27 weeks total in the country chart's top 40 from the summer of 1962 through early 1963. Background "Mama Sang a Song" is a sentimental reminiscence of a sharecropper's childhood, specifically about his mother. The protagonist recalls that, although his family grew up dirt poor and that his father sometimes cried in frustration over being unable to afford better things for his children, love, patience and virtue always reigned in their household. The youngster felt particular comfort when, in times of trial and yearning, his mother would take a hymnal from the shelf and sing a song to comfort the famil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conway Twitty
Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. From 1971 to 1976, Twitty received a string of Country Music Association awards for duets with Loretta Lynn. He was inducted into both the Country Music and Rockabilly Halls of Fame. Twitty was known for his frequent use of romantic and sentimental themes in his songs. Due to his following being compared to a religious revival, comedian Jerry Clower nicknamed Twitty "The High Priest of Country Music", the eventual title of his 33rd studio album. Twitty achieved stardom with hit songs like " Hello Darlin'", " You've Never Been This Far Before", and " Linda on My Mind". Twitty topped '' ''Billboard'''' Hot Country Songs chart 40 times in his career, a record that stood for two decades until it was surpassed by George Strait. He also topped ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The Pill", "Blue Kentucky Girl (song), Blue Kentucky Girl", "Love Is the Foundation (song), Love Is the Foundation", "You're Lookin' at Country", "You Ain't Woman Enough (song), You Ain't Woman Enough", "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl", "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)", "One's on the Way", "Fist City", and "Coal Miner's Daughter (song), Coal Miner's Daughter". The 1980 musical film ''Coal Miner's Daughter (film), Coal Miner's Daughter'' was based on her life. Lynn received many awards and other accolades for her groundbreaking role in country music, including awards from both the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music (ACM) as a duet partner and an individual artist. She was nominated 18 times for a Grammy Award an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Letter (Conway Twitty And Loretta Lynn Song)
"The Letter" is a song recorded by American country music artists Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn as a duet. It was released in June 1976 as the first single from their album ''United Talent''. The song peaked at number 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached number 1 on the ''RPM'' Country Tracks chart in Canada. It was written by Twitty and Charles Haney. The song – spoken wall-to-wall, with Twitty and Lynn trading spoken parts and set to a ballad-type musical background – is about a young man who is unfaithful to his girlfriend, resulting in the end of the relationship. Some time later, the two meet up again and she asks him to make good on a promise they made that if one ever needed to help the other, he or she would. She asks him to write a letter that affirms love and faithfulness, regret and willingness to repent under the guise that it would be seen by her current boyfriend (who, like the male protagonist was unfaithful) and that he would real ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
